International branch campus

An international branch campus (IBC) is a form of international higher education whereby one or more partnering institutions establishes a physical presence in a foreign location for the purpose of expanding global outreach and student exchange. Generally named for their "home" institution and offering undergraduate and graduate programs, graduating students are conferred degrees from one or all partnering institutions, dependent on the agreement. Instruction most often occurs in properties owned or leased by the foreign institution, sometimes with a local partner, and may also include additional services and facilities to mirror Western universities. IBCs are delivered in many formats and currently exist all over the world. While they have been around in some form since at least the 1930s, they have gained much popularity over the last two decades. As of June 2026, there are 384 international branch campuses worldwide meeting the Cross-Border Education Research Team definition.

Background

While the internationalization of higher education is considered a contemporary phenomenon, it has a variety of historical roots. During the colonial era, the practice of setting up "branch" institutions in foreign countries or sponsoring schools in the colonies was commonplace, serving the most basic purposes characteristic of the period. This practice included institutions established by the British and French in Africa and Asia, by the Dutch in Indonesia, by the Roman Catholic organizations (particularly the Jesuits) in Latin America and the Philippines, and, in the nineteenth century, by American Protestant missionaries. These established colleges grounded in the US model in countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon, practices from which the American University of Beirut was founded.